Ratchetrospective: Ratchet and Clank (Future): Tools of Destruction

Well, we’ve finally arrived at the PS3 games in the Ratchet and Clank Universe, and there are 6 of them. Ratchet and Clank: Tools of Destruction was released in 2007, a full 2 years after Gladiator. It’s quite clear it takes longer and longer to develop games now than it used to, so… Let’s take a look

We open in Metropolis on Kerwan where Ratchet and Clank, seemingly no longer doing duty on the Starship Phoenix are working at getting a vehicle ready, they receive a message from Captain Qwark at the Planetary Defence Centre. The City’s being attacked by heavily armed robotic commandos, Ratchet and Clank head off but the vehicle’s not quite up to snuff and they crash, falling to their deaths

OK, they survive, but that was a long fall, and Ratchet was not wearing Clank at the time to slow it. Anyway, they fight their way to the defence centre. Qwark is absent as they’re confronted with a Drophyd Enforcer. It’s quickly discovered that Ratchet is their intended target. They confront the leader of the Drophyds, Emperor Percival Tachyon. They trick him, making him think Clank had specialised weapons, and steal his ship. They’re put to sleep on transport to their next destination. Whilst in a dream, Clank sees mysterious creatures point towards a building in what turns out to be Stratus City.

The ship ran out of fuel and crashed on the planet Cobalia. After fighting their way through some of the wildlife, they meet a smuggler and his parrot. They offer him a lift in exchange for getting one of the Planet’s gel plants up and running. They give him a gadget to allow him to do so. After restoring the gel plant the Smuggler says they can take them as far as Stratus City on the Planet Kortog. They agree.

The Smuggler explains that the Polaris Galaxy is largely owned by Tachyon, he says it’s ironic that the one Cragmite the Lombaxes didn’t vaporise return to oppress the galaxy, peaking Ratchet’s curiosity. Ratchet is spotted via Bioscan and he and Clank are ejected from the ship, so the Smuggler evade capture. They land on the Planet and fight there way through some of the Drophyd soldiers. Clank sees the creatures from his dream point towards the building, the Hall of Knowledge. They give him an upgrade in order to do so.

Clank discovers some information about Planet Fastoon. Before Ratchet could hear the rest of the information, they take an escape pod and leave. The touch down on Fastoon but the planet is abandoned, deserted as Clank puts it "ages ago". Ratchet discovers an old ship and after finding some parts conveniently scattered around he fixes it up. The Starship Aphelion is active. They receive a holo-vite from Captain Qwark about the Imperial Fight Festival on Planet Mukow.

They head there but as they approach the Voron Asteroid Belt they’re ambushed by Captain Slag and his army of space pirates. They fight off the ambush and head to Mukow. After fighting in the arena. Qwark reveals that he surrendered himself as a confident to Tachyon to save Metropolis, or really his own hide. He gives Ratchet an info-bot. It’s a commercial for joining Tachyon’s army (which conveniently, no-one really takes him up on) but it reveals that they’re looking for the Lombax secret, the weapon responsible for the Cragmite defeat. They suspect a clue may be on a base in the Nundac Asteroid Ring

Ratchet and Clank head there to investigate. The Smuggler is there, mentioning that some pirates on Ardolis had offered him bolts for Leviathan Souls. They need a launch code to take a shuttle to the base and the Smuggler would provide in exchange for some souls. They find the souls and head to the base. They’re attacked by a couple of warbots, Cronk and Zephyr but they fight through. Eventually the owner of the station: Miss Talwyn Apogee recognises Ratchet as a Lombax and tells them to stand down.

They get up to speed. Clank asks why Tachyon would think they have a Lombax weapon. Talwyn (along with Cronk) answer that her father, Max Apogee was a collector of rare antiquities, notably a Lombax artefact. When it was stolen by Space Pirates, Max went after them and never returned. Clank recalls the mention of pirates on Ardolis and they head there to steal the artefact back.

They fight their way through the Pirates, recovering the artefact, it’s a map to Rykan V, they conclude the secret is hidden there. Ratchet and Clank are attacked in the Rakar Star Cluster for daring to steal from the Pirates. They fight back and arrive on Rykan V but Tachyon is already in the area, for some reason. Ratchet, Clank, Cronk and Zephyr fight their way through and make it to the Spaceport. They find the smuggler who offers them a gadget that can help them through the lava refineries.

They enter a secret room which only a Lombax can open (unless you're Max Apogee apparently) but find the item missing. All that’s left is an instructional video. Mentioning ‘inter-dimensional’ several times. There’s a training ground on Sargasso that might hold a clue, so they head to Sargasso. The Smuggler is there (this guy really gets around) and offers them a gadget in exchange for some more leviathan souls. They provide and thanks to the Zoni, Clank guides Ratchet to a weapon's testing facility. Talwyn is having less luck, she’s being followed by Tachyon troopers.

At the testing facility, they find the Plumber who tells them that there’s no such device that can vaporise an entire planet of Cragmites. He also provides them with a 3 and 3 quarters centi-cubit hexagonal washer. Clank theorises that maybe the Cragmites weren’t vaporised just moved to another dimension. They get a call from Captain Qwark telling them to come back to Mukow. They do so and are awarded with a new gadget and an info-bot. The Iris Supercomputer, in the Kreeli Comet was a computer developed by an unknown race, eons ago (I’ll have a point about this) but it now lies in Pirate territory.

They use their new gadget to sneak through Pirate territory. The computer is damaged but Clank and the Zoni manage to fix it, before they leave, the Zoni tell Clank that Talwyn is locked in Zordoom Prison. The Iris computer warns that Max Apogee relocated the dimensionator to Kerchu City on the Planet Jasindu, under the protection of the most unpleasant race in the Galaxy.

Ratchet wants to head there but Clank warns that a device like that is too dangerous for anyone to possess, Ratchet is not pleased. Clank warns Ratchet about Talwyn's situation and they head to Zordoom Prison on the Planet Viceron, Qwark calls and gives them the schematics (well, child's drawings) and with his help they’re able to rescue Talwyn. She asks how they knew she was there leading to Ratchet wondering. He himself thought the Zoni were figments of Clank's imaginaton (despite the fact that he's a robot), Qwark manages to steal the co-ordinates to Kerchu City from Tachyon's computer whilst they made the rescue attempt.

En-route to Jasindu, they’re attacked by Space Pirates Again. Ratchet destroys their outpost but they still manage to beat him to Jasindu. So after fighting through both Pirates and Kerchu, including a massive Kerchu mech robot they recover the dimensionator. Unfortunately, Captain Slag followed them and forces them to give it up. Clank tracks them to the Ublik Passage, they fight their way through the fleet and defeat Captain Slag, blowing his head off his body. Ratchet is named their official Captain but he refuses. Clank tries to convince him to destroy it but before any minds are made up Qwark sneaks in, stealing the dimensionator and promising to throw it into a black hole. The shuttle he takes will take him to the nearest planet, the Cragmite home world of Reepor

Cronk, Zephyr and Talwyn help Ratchet and Clank fight off the Drophyds to try and rescue Qwark but it’s too late. Tachyon has the dimensionator and has opened a portal to the dimension the Cragmites were banished to, the Cragmites are free. Ratchet and Clank are pushed off the edge and despite falling from roughly the same place, they end up in two very different places. Clank fights his way back to the ship and the Zoni warn him that Ratchet will need him on Fastoon.

Ratchet also fights back to the ship and meets up with Talwyn, Zephyr and Cronk, whose head was blown off in the fight. He expresses regret over not destroying the dimensionator when he had a chance. Clank was right, it should never be used. Clank comes back with a welcome embrace but Aphelion warns them that the Cragmite Armada are approaching Meridian City on the Planet Igliak, it’s the Capital of the parts of Polaris free from Tachyon’s rule.

Ratchet and Clank head out to suppress the invasion. They receive a call from Captain Qwark and manage to rescue him. Clank alerts them that Tachyon may be headed toward Fastoon (for some reason) so they alert Cronk and Zephyr to meet them. Tachyon’s Warship flies over the city. Tachyon says that the last time he’d seen Lombaxes on Fastoon they were running with their tails between their legs. He takes refuge in the Court of Azimuth, inviting them to meet him there. Ratchet, Clank and the others fight their way through, eliminating the remaining Cragmites and entering the Court.

Tachyon explains that with his attackers decimating the city, the Lombaxes took refuge in the court. They left this dimension, hoping that would convince Tachyon to leave the Galaxy alone. Only 2 (to his knowledge) stayed behind. The keeper of the dimensionator and his infant son. Ratchet was sent to Solana as Tachyon killed his father. He offers Ratchet a chance to join his race but Ratchet refuses. No-one will be safe if he leaves Tachyon with the dimesnionator, he’s not going anywhere until it’s destroyed.

Tachyon attacks but Ratchet and Clank fight back, about a quarter of the way through the fight he, Ratchet and Clank are eventually pulled through a portal and the fight continues, Tachyon is defeated and he rambles as he's sent to another dimension. But to Ratchet's panic, the dimensionator is broken, something snapped out the primary reflux coil. Fortunately they have the very thing to fix it, a 3 and 3 quarters centicubit hexagonal washer. Ratchet asks the dimensionator to find home and it takes him back to Talwyn, Cronk and Zephyr. Back at the Apogee Space Station Qwark is learning to speak Pirate from Rusty Pete, Slag’s first mate/sidekick for some reason, Cronk and Zephyr are re-enacting the battle and Ratchet and Clank have a heart to heart but just as things begin to settle the Zoni show up and kidnap Clank, disappearing to a location unknown.

This best way I can describe this story is cluttered. It seems like TJ Fixman had a lot of ideas to get across here and did not succeed in getting all of them across. We have Tachyon, the Space Pirates, The Kerchu, Max Apogee’s story (we never actually get a full answer about what happened, presumably he died on Jasindu although the tie-in comics suggest otherwise) the Zoni, Qwark. There’s a lot here… Having said that, I think this story is stronger than people give it credit for

There’s clearly a Star Wars Influence. And why not: Star Wars is an action epic spanning multiple planets, Ratchet and Clank is very similar in that regard. There’s a lot of mentions of  the Empire and imperial things, even with Tachyon calling himself Emperor. It helps bring a Galaxy lore. Ratchet is described as a rebel on several occasions (and we'll see a bit more of this in A Crack in Time)

The biggest issue is Tachyon is not threatening as a villain at all. I think the idea that they were going for is that he is just a small dude with a big Napoleon complex. But this makes it difficult to buy the idea that he was able to lead an army and conquer the Galaxy. At no point was there any indication he was planning ahead with Ratchet, he’s not smart enough. His major victory near the game’s end is really only down to Qwark’s bumbling and Qwark may not have even been captured if it wasn’t the Cragmite home world he got sent off to.

There are a lot of comedy double acts in this one. Cronk and Zephyr, both are old and have served together over galactic wars, their light-hearted bickering gives a nice touch to some of the levels and adds to the humour. Captain Slag as Rusty Pete: Slag is the big, aggressive and somewhat sorta intelligent and Pete is the idiot (although that’ll be challenged in the next game) always drunk, talking too much and takes solace with the Captain because he’ll hate him less. We also have the Smuggler and his parrot. Whilst the smuggler is inward, reserved and calm, the parrot is outward, aggressive and panicky. They say the best partners are polar opposites and this proves the point.

What I’m saying here is there’s a lot of good humour. None of them hold to Nefarious and Lawrence but they’re all funny in their own right and we’ll be seeing more of all of them in one game or another to come.

This is also the game that changes the dynamic of the Plumber (although there were hints here and there before) and it’s a good one in my opinion because he’d become a guy who just sorta has to be there. You get the impression from this game that there’s more to the Plumber in him giving sorta cryptic advice to the team. You’ll see this more blatanty in A Crack in Time.

I think what really settles it for me is that it seemed like it was key to give both Ratchet and Clank a character arc. We’ve never really explored Ratchet’s history until this point. There are no other Lombaxes in the first game, we don’t find out that Angela Cross is in fact a Lombax (apparently had to escape Tachyon’s vendetta, which means it’s not the first time Tachyon crossed galaxies) until A Crack in Time. So this character arc is strong, and doesn’t reflect too negatively on Ratchet like his arc in the first game did. Here he faces genuine temptation to try and find more of his own kind using the dimensionator or even to use it against Tachyon.

Clank’s adventures with the Zoni is more a teaser of what’s to come later but it’s clear he means well in his advice. It’s not hard to see how a wormhole device could be dangerous. The original ad suggested it could tear the fabric of the universe asunder. He’ll warm up to the idea of using the dimensionator later but it’s clear now is definitely not the time to use it. He and Ratchet being at odds feels natural and doesn’t reflect negatively on Clank any more than it does on Ratchet.

The one issue people have with this game’s story is the ending and yeah, it’s a cliff-hanger, no bones about it. And it wasn’t a common ploy in video games and it still isn’t. I hated that ending, but then Quest for Booty and A Crack in Time came out and I wasn’t quite as p*ssed about it. Honestly, all 3 games of the trilogy are self-contained and each begin with a recap of events for those who have missed it.

We’re back to the core Ratchet and Clank game-play. There’s running, shooting, more running, jumping and more shooting with the occasional grind-rail, free-fall, gliding, laser arms, disguise hacking puzzle etc involved

Weapon Upgrade

So after everyone agreed Gladiator’s upgrade system was overkill we’re back to 4 upgrades through the first playthrough. However, buying the mega-weapon allows you to upgrade another 4 times through your challenge mode playthroughs

Raritanium

Not so rare anymore it would seem as you collect it throughout the game and use it to purchase modifications to your weapons increasing damage, spread, area of effect, ammo capacity and adding extra features. In challenge mode you can also buy a special weapon using this currency

Space Combat

Space Combat returns but improved in pretty much every aspect. You are not in control of the route, only the guns as you shoot enemies that are all right in front of you with the usual combination of missiles and lasers. You can shoot various targets for extra money and when enemies occasionally are behind, clank hops on that turret and helps shoot from behind. You also get a few bosses like this

Weapons Vendors

Near the end of the game, it gets really really hard, so whilst this change didn’t stick, be glad it is what it is while it’s here. In this game using a weapons vendor replenishes your health.

Graphical Upgrade

I don’t usually discuss this but this game looks fantastic, there aren’t as many levels as before, but there are plenty enough of them and they’re all filled with detail. The characters also look good in this outing.

RYNO holo-plans

Rather than paying an obscene amount of cash to purchase this weapon, you can now collect the 16 holo-plans scattered throughout the game, usually found in bolt crates in secret areas

6-axis controller use

They PlayStation 3 Controller comes with a feature where it can recognise tilts. This is optional during freefall and other mini-games but also has one of the best uses I’ve seen in any title, and I’ll get to it when I discuss weapons.

Shielded enemies

Certain Pirates and Drophyds carry shields during portions of the game, these block certain light attacks, the shields can be destroyed by heavy fire-power or can be bypassed with certain weapons. This is largely not used again but it's cool to have some strategic thinking with weapons.

Electrified enemies

Certain Pirates can be immune to electrical attacks, you’ll know if you see them

Clank Gameplay

Clank has control of the Zoni, who allow him to slow down time, can manipulate objects or energise them and allow him to float over gaps.

Dialogue Options

Most major side-characters have a segment where you can choose questions to ask them and they’ll give some answers, this gives some expansions to the Galaxy’s lore and history

In game dialogue

Most dialogue you heard throughout the game came from off screen characters and rarely was there a response. I don’t recall instances where the story was advanced via in-game dialogue until this one. It’s nice as it keeps you on track.

In this game there are weapons that you can upgrade and those that you can’t, these are called devices and sold from a separate vendor. You still have the generic blaster, shotgun, bomb glove, rocket launcher and flamethrower (no sniper rifle this time) but all the other weapons are entirely new

Shock Ravager/Lightning Ravager

It’s a whip, slightly longer than the plasma whip but you lack the ability to throw it. This is one of those that can get around shields, it’s free for that exact purpose but it’s useless against electrified enemies, upgrades to shock nearby enemies

Tornado Launcher/Tempest Launcher

This is the weapon that I was talking about, you can use the 6-axis controller to move the tornado independently of Ratchet, it sucks up bolts and enemies like nobody’s business and can be upgraded to strike enemies with lightning.

Buzz Blades/Doom Blades

The blaster in this game does not have a particularly fast rate of fire, these do and they ricochet off enemies, they can upgrade to have a poisonous kick to them

Predator Launcher/Raptor Launcher

This targets multiple enemies and fires missiles at them, be aware for each thing you target you use one ammo. This upgrades to spew lava with each shot and with some raritanium, you can target an enemy with multiple shots at once.

Alpha Disruptor/Alpha Cannon

Briefly charges before letting out a massive blast of energy at an enemy. Upgrades to have an explosive impact on contact. This is another weapon you get rather than purchase but I highly recommend you upgrade it quickly as it will become very useful in later stages against bosses. Be careful not to rely on it though, it carries 5 ammo at best.

Plasma Beasts/Plasma Stalker

Sends out a slimy creature that attacks an enemy and can bypass its shield. Upgrades so it can tunnel around. Personally, I prefer the shock ravager or just using more powerful weapons as this takes a while to upgrade whilst you’ve got better weapons to deal with. It upgrades quickly on Jasindu which is where I usually use I most

Nano Swarmers/Toxic Swarmers

Another version of a mini-turret but this time it locks onto enemies without being fully upgraded, upgrades to be poisonous and cause more over-time damage. Another weapon useful against bosses.

Mag-net Launcher/Mag-net cannon

Traps enemies in a magnetic cage while they’re taking damage, upgrades to drop grenades once the cage breaks. This is very useful weapon against the Cragmites as you can trap them and stop them from moving around in an unhittable form.

Razor Claws/Shredder Claws

Allows you to fast attack enemies with razor blades, upgrades to be bigger. This weapon is best used in conjunction with others. I don’t particular care for it, it’s easy to get hit using this.

Death Springs

Death springs are auto-seeking well, springs of death. They’re available so late in the game you might just overlook them

Groovitron/Golden Groovitron

Throws up a magic disco-ball that forces all enemies within range to dance until the music stops, giving you time to kill or make an escape. For some raritanium you can upgrade it to have unlimited ammo

Leech Bomb/Mega Leech Bomb

Takes health from the surrounding enemies and gives it to you, the mega version takes more but it’s on very expensive ammo

Transmorpher

A device that temporarily turns an enemy into a penguin. Not to be used on larger enemies.

Visi-Copter

A long ranged remote controlled helicopter with some firepower but very very explnsieve

Mr Zurkon

A robotic help droid that spouts one-liners at you all the time. Most of them are actually pretty funny too.

Confuzzler Gas

Temporarily turns enemies against one another. I don’t use this much

Ryno IV/Ryno IV Extreme

Always save the best for last, once you have all the holoplans you will get this weapon built for you. It auto-targets enemies and shoots them however such a quick rate of fire results in a lot of the missiles missing and it feels like it’s wasting a lot of ammo

Tools of Destruction was a strong outing on the PlayStation 3 and a sign of good things to come, it needed some tweaking and there were a few too many elements in this game the Helipod is massively underutilised, for example. This story isn’t over yet though so come back as we look at Quest for Booty

Rating 85/100

Memorable Quotes
"Arr, what be that foul smell" "Ah, that oyster chilli be disagreeing with me somethin' fierce" "Naw, there be a yet fouler smell, one I not be smellin' in nigh 600 moons" "Ah, fresh trousers"
"His name's Percival?"
"So, you're a lombax whose never seen another lombax, doesn't know who they are or what their secret is, that's so...." "Ironic?" "I take it he's the smart one"
"This reminds me of the time we did a HALO jump with that lombax and his metal buddy into the Cragmite home-world, Zeph, when was that?" "Oh, for crying out loud, it's happening right now you darn fool"
"All hail the lombaxes, *squark* saviours of the universe" "Attention, a bio-scan reveals a lombax lifeform aboard your vessel, stand by for immediate disintegration" "*squark* ditch the lombax, nothing but trouble, nothing but trouble *squark*"
"I think I've found another C-L-E-U-W-4?"
"My bolts aren't rusty, they just haven't been used in a while"

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Images/clips used in this review are from Ratchet and Clank: Tools of Destruction and Looney Tunes and belong to their respective owners. All images in this review are subject to fair use